The Bond of Oblivion
by Mine.immaculate.dream
Summary: Sequel to The Beautiful Secret. Ritsuka and Seimei challenge parenthood!
1. Prolouge: Summer Rain

"How did it go at Nagisa's today?" Soubi asked Ritsuka while sipping his lemonade. It sure was a beautiful early summer day, the warm air of the evening blowing around them, tousling Ritsuka's longish dark hair.

"Interesting enough, thank you for keeping an eye on Eneko for me. I mean he's nine, and very capable, but I still don't feel comfortable leaving him alone."

Soubi smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm surprised you let Saskia stay at home with him, he's so scatter brained. It's like Eneko is babysitting his older brother, instead of the other way around."

Ritsuka laughed out loud covering his mouth.

"Oh, I hope Saskia didn't hear that, he'll be so defeated."

Seimei walked out onto the open patio and into the breezy evening air, fragrent with the smell of newly bloomed wild flowers.

"I think Kio said that dinner will be done in a half hour." Seimei commented, kissing Ritsuka on the forehead. His brother smiled slightly.

"Good, I skipped lunch, Saskia...err...ate all of it."

Seimei raised a brow, leaning his back against the rose cover lattice.

"He sure has an appetite. Hm."

Soubi laughed, looking over to where the two boys were playing tag.

"Saskia sure acts young for twelve, much younger than you did when you were twelve, Ritsuka."

Seimei narrowed his eyes a bit at Soubi, frowning.

"Get you're pervy eyes away from my son, Soubi. I know how you are....Loli shota complex...."

Soubi shook his head, his cheeks a bit red.

"No No! I don't look at Saskia that way! Or Eneko for that matter...Although Saskia does look like he's more around sixteen than Twelve. He sure has shot up...and his voice is already changing, too."

Ritsuka and seimei both gaped at Soubi, a look of disgust and suprise donning their features.

"SOUBI!" Ritsuka cried, punching the taller man in the shoulder. "That's my baby!"

Seimei shook his head, rubbing his temples.

"Maybe we shouldn't leave our children with such a pedifile."

Soubi gasped, offened.

"Pedifile?! I'm hardly a sex offender...Seimei, at least I didn't eye-rape my own little brother."

Seimei glared daggers at his friend, his hand placed on his hip.

"Don't you say another word about my relation to Ritsuka! Were one of my children to hear you, they'd be scarred for life."

Soubi, bit his lip, nodding.

"You're right..."

Ritsuka sighed in exasperation, leaning back on the lattice, shoulder to shoulder with his husband.

"Jeeze, I was trying to tell Soubi what happened at Saskia's appointment today and you both keep interupting me! I'm just going to stop talking all together." Ritsuka crossed his arms, pouting.

Seimei laughed, rubbing Ritsuka's narrow back.

"Oh, come now Ritsuka, tell us what happened today."

Ritsuka replaced his discouraged features with a smile.

"Well, I told her how Saskia was having a hard time to adjusting, well to growing up, you know. And she was pretty suprised to see how tall he's gotten already, I mean he's alread five foot eight. He looks like a high school student, not a middle school kid! Any way, she gave him a physical and drew some blood too, just to make sure everything was going ok. And, Saskia's just fine, but the blood results came back abnormal."

Seimei suddenly donned a worried look.

"What was it?!" He demanded.

Ritsuka put a finger to his lips and shushed, gesturing the two into a huddle.

"I told him I wouldn't tell anyone, he's a little embarrassed." Ritsuka whispered. "The results came back and Nagisa saidhe's over developing like this because...well he's inherited my...um...trait."

Seimei gasped covering his lovely mouth, Soubi just looked at them with a confused visage.

"What?"

Ritsuka sighed, looking incredulously at Soubi with Raised eyebrows.

"He's going to be able to become pregnant too..."Ritsuka stated matter-of-factly.

Soubi's eye brows shot up in surprise.

"You don't say. That would make the talk a bit more interesting, wouldn't it."

They all went back to sipping lemonade and leaning against the lattice, their eyes inconspicuously following the twelve year old boy flick rocks at his little brother.

"Actually, I've already had the...erm.. talk with him, although it may need to be expanded upon now, with this news." Seimei added, pushing his wire-framed glasses up his narrow nose.

Ritsuka laughed a bit, his face still seeming as young as it was twelve years ago, when Saskia was born.

"Oh don't worry Seimei, we talked about it on the -extreamly- long ride home from Gora. He was quite red the entire time. he kept saying 'You did what?!' and ' Don't worry Dad, I'll never marry a guy.' Hahaha, it was so cute."

Seimei smiled, his beautiful eyes resting on his two children appreciativly.

"He better not, I'll never let some guy violate my son like that."

Ritsuka frowned, jabbing Seimei in the ribs.

"Is that what you did to me Seimei, you violated me?"

Seimei shrugged,a sheepish smile on his features.

"Three times a week at the least."

Ritsuka gasped, throwing both his hands over Seimei's unruly mouth.

"Shut up!"

Soubi laughed sipping his watered down lemonade, the condensation running over his fingers.

XXXXXXX

"That sounds embarassing." Eneko stated, brushing back his angularly cut straight black hair. The action mimicked Ritsu's old habits.

Saskia nodded his head in agreeance, his awkwardly long legs drapped over the oak tree branch he was sitting on. His pointed ears flattened to his mass of wavy auburn tresses.

"I know, and after all of that, I still had to get poked with a needle too. I just hate them."

Eneko shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I don't think needles are so bad. You get used to it, as much as we get our blood taken."

Saskia let out a sigh, reaching into the pocket of his navy blue hooded vest. He pulled out a sucker and tossed it to his younger brother, smiling.

"Told ya I'd swipe one Eneko. Kio wasn't even paying any attention."

Eneko smirked, pulling the sticky wrapper off of the treat.

"You didn't get one for yourself?" He asked, popping the candy into his mouth.

Saskia shrugged.

"I ate it already."

The two boys sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the early summer sights and smells, the soft floral fragrace that anointed the setting sun made Saskia shiver with reminiscence.

"You know, Nagisa Sensei couldn't shut up about how I looked like Father, it was annoying."

Eneko looked up studying his older brother's face for a moment before he pulled the sucker from his mouth, licking his lovley lips.

"Hmm...well you do, Saskia. Especially since you grew like a hundred feet. Your voice sounds kinda deep like his does too."

"Shut up!" Saskia demaded, blushing profusely. "I can't help it..."

Eneko raised a brow, an amused smile gracing his lips.

"Did you tell Daddy about what happened last night while you were asleep?"

Saskia flattened his ears to his head and glared at his little brother.

"He...saw me put the sheets in the washer this morning...jerk..."

Saskia looked away, his cheeks burning.

Eneko giggled loudly, wrapping his arm around his stomach.

"I'll never forget your face when you woke me up and told me to go back to my own bed. I think I laugh for an hour."

"It's not funny Eneko." Saskia grumbled. "And to think I got you a sucker."

Eneko sighed, collecting himself.

"Big brother, I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable, it happens to every boy, at least that's what a read."

Saskia grimaced further, rubbing his temples much the way his father would.

"Didn't you say you had something good to tell me?" Saskia sighed.

Eneko nodded, his ears perking in his excitment.

"Sou-chan told me another story...one about our parents."

Saskia raised his head, suddenly serious.

"Something about Seven voices again?!"

Eneko shrugged.

"Sort of, it was more about our late gandfather, I guess, before he was killed he had done alot of experiments on people. Some of them were bad, I guess. But he has whole labs and files and files of these things he had done to people. Daddy being on of them."

Saskia's eyes widened.

"Didn't he mention how long Dad and Father have know each other? Or how they met even?"

Eneko shook his head.

"Soubi said he was absolutly not aloud to say anything about Father's past...including how he met Dad. I don't know why, but I think it has to do with the Sacrifice and Sentoki stuff they don't want us to know about."

"Probably, but...do you think the Ritsu guy left it in a file somewhere? You said he has alot of documents, and that he had done things to Dad."

"Yeah, I think there might be at least something that would tell us about our family's past, even if it's just a little."

Saskia eyes lit up suddenly, he leaned forward, face to face with his little brother.

"We -have- to go there. Have to. We'll figure out a way...we'll take the bus."

Eneko frowned looking at his older brother incredulously.

"You think we're just going to escape to take the bus two hours from here and explore some school we've never even been inside of, not counting Nagisa's office?"

Saskia nodded.

"Yeah, we'll go this saturday, when we get out of school, we'll say we're gonna stay at Sou-chan's. He doesn't even get home from teaching until like six thirty, he'll have no idea."

The boys were interupted by their father's voice calling to them.

"Dinner boys, get out of the tree!"

Eneko looked at Saskia, his features expectant.

They paused for a moment both staring into the other's eyes.

"Ok, we'll do it."

Saskia smiled and slid out of the tree.

"Great."

XXXXXX

The day was swiftly becomeing dark as Eneko and Saskia walked onto the bus, finding two seat in the back of the nearly empty bus. Saskia sat next to the window, the smell of damp earth still stuck in his nose. Summer rain sprinked the ground outside, in a few moments it was going to pour.

"We have longer than I thought, I told Soubi we were gonna play video games at Ivan's house...he's dumb enough to believe that I'd actully go over to your pervy friends house."

Saskia rolled his eyes.

"Don't insult Ivan, he's not mean to you at all, Eneko."

Eneko waved his brothers comment off, reaching for his back pack, which he had wedged between his legs on the floor.

"I searched through some of Soubi's old notebooks and found an really old crumpled map of the school's right wing. It looks like where alot of the student lodging is, but I did locate a room that looked promising."

Saskia raised a brow looking down at the wrinkled heavy brochure in his brother's hands.

"see how it's a scribbled out with that black ink, I think it's was Ritsu's office, or his old room. Soubi doesn't like Ritsu at all...and I sense there som e kind of emmotion reason behind that. So I just figured that this might have been a place Soubi hated."

"Well he was Soubi's old teacher, and I remember Kio telling Dad that Ritsu had ruined Soubi or something, I don't really get that...maybe he was abusive." Saskia added, his voice thoughtful.

Eneko nodded vigorously.

"Exactly, any guy that would do expaerimnets on unsuspecting little kids porbably wouldn't have any qualms about abusing someone. I know this is all relative, but it's my best guess at where to look."

Saskia shrugged, staring down at the crude map.

"That's all we have to go on right now, it's good enough for me."

XXXXX

The boys entered through the back gates of Seven Voices Academy relativly easy. They watched a few kids as they raced out of the pouring rain from building to building, using books and papers the sheild their heads from the water.

"Is school still in for them?!" Saskia exclaimed pulling his younger brother out of the sky's way and into the Right Wing building. Eneko flicked his ears,water droplets spattering Saskia in the face. The older boy shook himself out a bit, shivering.

"It sure is pouring out there." He stated looking down at the damp map in his awkwardly large hands. "I think we should head this way, we enter through these doors here." He pointed at the picture for his brother, who was looking over his shoulder. "The room is just down this hall and to the left."

Eneko nodded and the proceeded quietly down the shadowy hall, watching intently for anyone who might find them suspicious. They continuded down a shady corridor until they came to a dark wooden door with a bright gold plaque pated to the front of it, it read plainly "Head Master".

The young boys eyes widened.

"This, this must be it..." Saskia whispered, reaching out to the door knob.

Eneko stood behind his brother, his large boyish eyes staring in fear.

"You can't just open it, Saskia, what if someone is in there?!" He demanded. "We'll be so dead it's not even funny, Father will never let us do anything ever again."

Saskia hesitated for a moment, his beautiful face confused. He brushed his jaw length damp auburn hair out of his face and bit his lip.

"Just what do you think I should do then?! We came here to this didn't we?! We have a right to know this stuff, I don't care what Dad and Father say."

Saskia placed his hand on the dented gold door knob, it was cold and unyealding. The older boy's heart pounded in his chest as he sucked in a breath and turned the knob.

It turned easily, clicking as the door slid open before the both of them. Eneko followed his older brother into the dark empty room, gray with only the light of the grey atmosphere outside to illuminate it.

"It's empty." Saskia exclaimed silently under his breath as he explored the narrow office. It felt so icy, so unwelcoming.

Eneko wandered over to where three large filing sat in the corner, rusting. He tried the first one, jiggling the hindle until it gave way, almost shooting outward. The black haired boy gasped as he read over all of the names. They were in Alphabetical order, each name help a heavy manila folder.

In the "A"s Eneko Found the name Agatsuma...there were two of them.

"I found Soubi's Folder!" Eneko called to his brother, whom was busy studying a the small fish tank that sat by the door.

"What?!" Saskia exclaimed, shuffling over to where his brother had a folder open before him.

"It says that he is a orphaned boy who's last living guardian was Minami Ritsu...Wow. And it also says that he was Beloved's sentoki before he moved over to pair with Lovless. It's that Father's Name on his hand?!"

Saskia nodded, looking down at the faded papers that rested on top of the cream colored envelope.

"But there's more than one Agatsuma." Eneko stated lifting up the folder to look beneith it. "It says Agatsuma, Emmaline Jaimison."

"Take the folder." Saskia ordered, staring down at the "A" file, searching for wasn't sure which of his parent's were born with the Sur name, but he knew he'd find at least one of them, and maybe just a bit closer to finding out his family history.

He sucked in a breath when he spotted his last name scrawled out on one of the folders. It said "Aoyagi, Ritsuka". He yanked it out, his fingers a bit shakey from the excitement. He was about to flip the flimsy cover open when something caught his eye. It was another file, right next to it that read, to Saskia's surprise, "Aoyagi, Seimei".

"How long have they been married, this doesn't make sense..." Saskia breathed half to himself, gaining Eneko's attention from Soubi's file.

Eneko frowned. "Open it up." He said, looking over Saskia's bony shoulder.

Saskia flipped "Aoyagi, Ritsuka"'s file open, his eyes hungrily searching through it.

"It saw he's the sacrifice for the pair Loveless...paired with some guy named Naname Akira...but later reassigned to Agatsuma Soubi. Does Dad know a guy named Akira?"

Eneko shrugged, his ears flattening.

"I've never heard of the guy..."

Saskia continued to read until he gasped out loud, his heart hammering in his chest.

"What is it?!" Eneko demanded trying to spy over his brother's shoulder.

"I-it says..." Saskia stuttered, blinking. "That Dad is- is the younger half brother of Aoyagi, Seimei...Dad and Father...are brothers."

Eneko gasped, pulling Saskia around to meet his wide gaze.

"They're brother's?! You mean...are parents are incestuous?!"

Saskia nodded, pulling his other parent's file out of the cabnet and shoving it into his messenger bag. I also read that father...was banished from Seven Voices due to some kind of multiple law violations. But it didn't say what it was."

Eneko nodded and shoved Soubi's file into his bag as well, his fingers shaking.

"Do we tell Dad that we know?!" Eneko asked, a bit of panic resonating in his melodic voice.

Saskia shook his head, throwing the filing cabinet's closed ad turning to meet his brother's worried gaze.

"No, we can never say anything that might make them think we were here. If we do, we can never come back."

Eneko nodded, letting his older brother take him by the hand and pull him after him.

"We've got to go now, Eneko, if we hurry we can catch the five 'o clock , bus."

Eneko gripped his brother's hand tighter as they ran out of the office, letting the door shut noisely behind them.

As the boys ran out of the buidling and into thickness of the steamy summer rain, they both knew they could keep this secret, they could together uncover their families past and truly find out what it meant to be an Aoyagi.


	2. Blush

"I think now's the time..."

The headmaster of Seven voices academy looked up at a large elusive figure blocking the light of the hallway from shining inot his dark office, his head taller than the door way.

"I don't understand why you waited this long Headmaster Sagan, it's not like he's any more threating today that he was yesterday. He's just a kid."

Youji frowned, his eye narrow.

"Emmaline, you to are still concidered just a kid, you're only twenty two, it's not like you have all of this wisdom under your belt or something. Besides, I'd thought that you having this position in Septimal Moon would teach you that even children could be dangerous. Look at what Aoyagi Seimei did to this place. We've never been the same and he's only fourteen when he started trouble with us. Don't you think his son would have to be dealt with? "

Emmaline stared down at his Sensei, the waist length white hair of his pony tail sliding down his broad shoulder.

"I don't know how much leverage I have as Septimal Moon's assassin, so I guess killing a sixteen year old boy isn't a choice for me. I just do what I'm told, isn't that right?"

Emmaline deep voice still held a twinge of his former french accent, making his Japanese a bit hard to understand at times; but it didn't take away from how manacing he sounded when he sadi even the plainest things. He'd grown to be increadbly tall, being the tallest person ever to grace the halls of Seven Voices, he reached the impressive hight of six seven.

Youji looked up into the replendent silvery eyes of the boy he had trained and raised from the young age of six. He was frightening to look at, even to Youji. He seemed to detached, so desolate indside. He was the perfect assasin, he felt nothing...for no one.

"That's right, we do what we must, don't we. Don't look at me as if it bothers you either. I knwo you don't care. It's not hard for you to kill."

Emmaline's eyebrows drew together, a look of befuddlement gracing his angleic features.

Emmaline looked every bit like a real angel might, Youji thought, regal and fightening. The way he carried himself, the way he seemed so beautiful, yet so horrifying. A fallen angel...a grim reaper...and Angel of Death.

"They should have named you Micheal..." Youji commented under his breath.

Emmaline frowned.

"What for?"

The Headmaster shook his head, waving the comment off.

"This is what we have for him, we think he might have a sibling but we're not sure. You need to check that out, but if not then we don't need worry about any one but this boy and Seimei."

Emmaline steped forward to pick up the thin packet Sagan had slid acorss the desk for him. He'd seen so many of these packets, all the information Septimal Moon had on any one person. He got one every time a hit was ordered.

He looked down at the packet, flipping the folder open to stare down at the information available for him. There wasn't much, just a bit here and there that some grade school kids could gather by secretly following the boy. There wasn't even a picture.

" Aoyagi Saskia Onagai. Born March second, 2002. Age, 16. Height, five foot eleven. Weight, unknown...attends Kaisei Academy...wow he must be a scholar."

Youji shrugged, running his bony fingers through his angularly cut straight hair.

"We don't know much about him , but I'm sure you don't need to much help finding him."

Emmaline raised a brow, smiling just a bit.

"One thing I liked about you, Headmaster Sagan, is that you don't tell me how to do my job."

Youji let a crooked smile grace his lip as well, lacing his fingers together.

"Indeed, well, be one your way. I'll expect you to meet back with me in a few days, let's say...Tuesday?"

Emmaline turned to leave, rolling down the crisp sleeves of his blue button up shirt, and pulling the bright red silk bow in his hair tight.

"I'll be here."

XXXXX

Emmaline walked the wet streets of Tokyo looking for Kaisei Academy, passing the parked cars and busy people hiding under their black umbrellas. He never liked umbrellas, never saw the need to hide from the sky. so what if it rained? It's was just water, wasn't it?

He was being atred at again, that was normal for Emmaline though, being so tall, so different looking. He was so pale and gossamer looking, with his waist long platinum hair and his lanky spidery- long arms and legs, he just begged to be gawked at, to inspire a certain awe in normal people. He imagined people talked about him at the Academy too, about why he had never had a Sacrifice picked for him, why he had never lost his ears...why we never spoke to anyone...or why he killed people for a living.

He had heard people whisper about him, people call him soulless, an animalistic barbarian that prayed on the weak, but even worse...they compared him to some one who killed for pleasure, they compared him to Seimei Aoyagi. A vile person he would never in his dreams want to be compared to.

No matter how he justified killing people who needed to be dispatched of, he knew he was worng to take another, but perhapse it saw Emmaline's disregard of his own life that made him stop caring long ago. Maybe he thought that because his life had meant nothing to anyone , that he was created, and not really born, that made it easier for him to kill, to take a life. Because of this, he really didn't even think himself think of himself as human, not the same way everyone else was. Maybe he was souless like they said, Emmaline thought; but if he was, at least he was of some use to someone, at least he was of use to six other people beside himself...Septimal Moon.

"A reason to live..." He whispered, his voice, soothing,deep, melodic.

He came to the Kaisei's campus at stared at the place while the rain poured dismally through the twilight. Emmaline walked intently through the tree lined campus to the tall, gothic building covered in fleshy vines. fall was coming close and soon these vines would shrivle and die, leaving their spidery veins to cling to the wall lifelessly.

Emmaline walked into the building and looked around, the cool air making his wet shirt cling to his porcelain skin. He spied a sign the pointed to the left to a staircase, saying " Floor 2, second year. Floor 3, third year. Floor 4, fourth year."

"Hmm..."

He climbed curbed stair case passing the second floor and heading toward the third. Emmaline stepped onto the landing, his eyes scanning the hall for an easy target. He spied a boy walking out of a room that read "Computer Lab." Emmaline raised a brow and followed after the boy, it only took a few strides to catch up to him.

"You." Emmaline stated, his voice deep and ethereal.

The boy stopped in his track and turned around slowly, facing Emmaline with wide fearful eyes.

"Y-yes..." He piped, holding his books to his chest.

"Can you tell me where to find a boy named Aoyagi Saskia?"

The boys eyes widened further, he nodded vigorously, his ears flattening to his head.

"Y-yes. He's in Advance English class 3-A. He's the Junior year Class Representative. Everyone knows him."

Emmaline frowned, he wasn't sure what he meant by everyone knew him. It was if he was implying that Emmaline himself sure should know him as well.

"Show me." He said, keeping his voice as even as he could, he didn't want to frighten the small boy any more than he already had.

"O-ok then." He stuttered, turning to head toward the english class. "It's right over here."

Emmaline followed the boy until he stopped in front of a heavy wooden door that fram a small window. The boy looked inside for a moment until he pulled away. He then turned to Emmaline, trying not to look into his ghostly ice blue eyes, they were so clear, the boy thought they reminded him of crystals.

"He's in there...the one with the pretty Red-brown hair and the two freckles under his right eye."

"Pretty?" Emmaline whispered, wrinkling his nose.

"Thank you, you were helpful."

They boy nodded, blushing profusely. He looked away, still quite uneasy by Emmaline's daunting presence.

"I-I have to go now, I'm only a second year, I shouldn't get caught on this floor." And with that the boy turned to leave, leaving Emmaline to spy on his next target.

He peeked into the window, cupping his hands over his face. He saw that the student were all donned in the same black pants and navy blue button up shirt, the gold buttons gleeming from their waists all the way up to their necks. He saw the girls in their short black skirts and pretty white shirts, their blue jackets hanging on the backs of their chairs. They were all up talking to one another, leaning on desks and standing around. Their teacher was obviously busy talking to another one, almost completely ignoring her students. You could tell that class was going to be over soon, calling another academic day to an end.

He looked around for the boy that he was enlightened of, searching for the "Pretty hair". I didn't take him long. He spied a boy sitting with his legs crossed under his desk, his chin resting in his large but feminine hand. He blinked his feathery lashes, his eyes narrow but distinctly welcoming, happy. His hair was lovely dark shade of auburn, and it was wildly wavy , reaching down at his neck in the back. The boy also had a beautful smile as he daydreamed, his eyes far off, distant.

Emmaline wasn't sure but for some reason he thought that it had to be another kid...a different one. He never had much of a problem killing people...but this boy...he didn't really want to kill him. Emmaline's eyes wnet straight for the boy's right eye searching for the tell-talke "Freckles" the young kid told him about; and sure enough, there were two little black beauty marks adorning his right eye, delacatly placed above his cheekbone. He also notived the shiny silver pin that held the Class representative insignia pined to the left side of his collar, just opposite his third year, roman numeral pin that made an emmactulate "III" on the right side of his collar.

This was him...this was Aoyagi Saskia. And he was...

Emmaline felt a chill resonate through his body, running inside of nerves and through his spine, making him shiver, and heat rise to his cheeks. He almost felt himself gasp at the odd sensation, it was foreign to him, strange almost. He was blushing! And profusely! He never blushed, never felt enamored by a persons appearance before. But this boy was beautiful, and devastatingly so.

Emmaline couldn't shake the feeling he got when he looked at his pretty face...his lovely eyes. He stared at the curve of the boy's bony hips through his uniform, his pointed narrow shoulders, his gracefully long neck.

Emmaline suddenlt felt dizzy as all of the blood began to rush from his head to another, more unmentionable place. Making him blush further, suddenly embarrassed, although no one was there to witness.

"A-am I really getting an erection from this?!" Emmaline demanded of himself in a harsh whisper, dropping his eyes to where his tight jeans were suddenly giving him more restriction. "This is rediculous."

Emmaline took one more look at Saskia Aoyagi before he turned to leave. He couldn't deal with the hit today. He was having to many wierd feelings all of the sudden. He would return to Seven voices for the night, maybe talk with the Oracle again before he want back to his one bedroom apartment back in Tokyo. The Oracle always helped to clear his head.

He walked back down the winding staircase, his hand grazing the cold metal beneith his long boney fingers.

A blush still stained his cheeks, and his heart thrummed in his chest nervously. He didn't quite knwo why he felt this way...but all of the sudden, he couldn't get Seimei Aoyagi's son out of his head.


	3. The Strangest Dream

Saskia blinked his eyes shut against the rain as he stepped out of the school building, it had stopped pouring so hard but surley the rain might pick up later on.

He stretched his long legs as he began his daily ritual of walking to Eneko's Middle school to pick him up so they could walk home together. He placed his heavy headphones over his ears and let out a deep comfortable sigh, letting "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" creep through his ears.

"The girl with Kaleidoscope eyes..." He whispered, a smile barley gracing his lips.

Saskia was so lost that he almost jumped out of skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"WHAT THE-!"

He turned seeing a familiar grinning face behind him. A boy his age stood before him, his neck adorned with different kinds glittering chains, small charms and pendents hanging from them, his fingers were covered in silver rings, bringing attention to his chipping black nailpolish. The boy's uniform was so obiviously altered to the point that he would often get into trouble by his teachers, it was almost as if he was saying "I know I worked very hard to get into this high school, but I hate this high school."

"Ivan." Saskia sighed exasperatedly at the lanky boy with long strawberry blond hair.

"SASKIA! You should probably walk with me, you don't want to get stolen do you?"

Saskia frowned, jamming his hands into his pockets as he walked down the busy street, Ivan coming to his side.

"I think I have a better chance of getting stolen while your with me, you're like a shiny 'Mug Me' Billboard. I might get stolen just by association."

Ivan grimaced, shaking his head.

"Don't say that, I just like necklaces, that's all." His friend smiled, his white teeth gleeming. "So when are you gonna finally give up those ears? Hmm? I just thought I would tell you that Yuka was interested..."

Saskia rubbed his temples, almost ready to put his headphones back on his head and stop the conversation.

"Absolutly not, I have to much going on right now to worry about girls. Plus I don't even know her, I'm not going to have sex with her."

Ivan laughed loudly, patting Saskia's bony shoulder with his ringed fingers.

"Oh come on, I didn't say she was interested sleeping with you, which she probably is, she doesn't have ears. But, what I meant was that you need to get to know a girl. You haven't even dated one since we were First Year students. Don't you think you should get back up on the horse?!"

"No."

"Oh jeeze, Saskia, everyone's going to think you're gay, and then the girls definatly won't stop pestering you! You should at least try to go on a date. I mean you're too busy to date, but not to busy to spend your whole weekend playing Saint's Row Online with Eneko."

Saskia smacked Ivan in the shoulder, his face obviously defeated.

"I-I like being a gangster, it's fun. And I have a stun gun and a helicopter too! Wait...is that why you kissed me in the lunchroom last week?! I was red for like two hours!Jerk!"

Ivan shrugged, a smile playing crookedly on his face.

"Well, I figured it was worth a shot, and the girls did keep following me around all day...after -you- shrugged them off. I think they like your little boy face, you are kind of pretty."

Saskia let out another frustrated sigh, his features irritated.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, it's gotta get out of here anyway. I'm almost at my brother's school and you know how he hates you."

Ivan pursed his lips, his hands on his narrow hips.

"Well, it's not like he even likes anyone. My little sister says everyone's afraid of him at school. They even said that once he stabbed a kid in the hand with a pencil because he made fun of gay people."

Saskia's eyes widened, and then he shrugged. That was Eneko, quick to react with violence.

"Well it's because of our parents, he's very protective. Although, that doesn't really excuse stabbing someone, I suppose."

Ivan rolled his eyes dramatically.

"You let him get away with so much, you need to be a better role model, Kia-chan."

Saskia leaned on the fence outside of Seishin Joshi Gakuen, the Middle school Eneko had chosen to attened before transfering to Saskia's highschool. Both of them had to attend Private school, due to their Father's direction. They were both smart enough to get into them, as well as wealthy enough, but Saskia had always wanted to go to public school...he liked that you could wear whatever you wanted there.

"I'm not his role model, Ivan. We're on the same page. Eneko is my best friend, there's really not much of an Older brother- Younger brother relationship really, because we kind of forget we're not the same age."

Ivan just shook his head, annoyed.

"Yeah, well that's not a very healthy relationship, if you ask me. He's too possesive over you, Saskia. I think he has a major Brother Complex, if you ask me. He probably wants to-."

"SHUT UP!" Saskia demanded, his face serious. As Eneko watched him from a distance, he realized that Saskia looked almost identical to their father when he made a face like that.

"Eneko doesn't have a complex, now could you leave? You guys don't get along at all so you should head home now, I think school is out."

Ivan shrugged, turning his back with a certain smug attitude.

"Right, I'll see you sometime around our break. Don't forget that we don't have school tomorrow like you did last year."

Saskia laughed sheepishly, his face blushing.

"I won't."

Saskia watched his eccentric friend leave with a sigh. It was always a battle with him, always something Ivan found he had to complain about. But Saskia didn't mind too much, because Ivan was a good friend, and good friend are hard to come by.

"Saskia!" Eneko shouted, running up to his brother, his messenger bag swaying at his hip.

Saskia smiled warmly, resting his arm across Eneko's girlish narrow shoulders. "How was school today?"

Eneko shrugged, looking down at his white jacket, small spots of blood staining it's pristine cover where the brass button met and his Middle school insignia rested.

"I got into I fight, I suppose. It was news to me though, I didn't know I had made the boy so angry."

Saskia narrowed his eyes, looking down at the flooded streets they walked beside.

"You better tell me what happened before I get mad, Eneko. No one should be beating you up."

Eneko stopped abruptly, pulling at Saskia's sleeve.

"Do I look like I got beat up?!" Eneko demanded, glowering at his oblivious older brother.

Saskia raised a brow, Eneko looked normal...no bruises...no scratches...nothing. Just the blood on the front of his uniform. Saskia frowned, a bit confused.

"No...you don't. what happened?"

Eneko shrugged as they continued to walk. "I got something for you, for us. The boy got mad and tried to take it back from me. So I made him stop trying to hit me. It was annoying."

Saskia gaped at his little brother, his face suprised.

"What the hell did you take?! That's not nice Eneko. You can't take other peoples things."

Eneko rolled his pretty eyes, sighing in annoyance.

"It a complete student map of Seven Voice's, that boy was going to meet up with his Sentoki for the first time, I heard him on the phone with the headmaster this morning and sure enough, he had the map in his bag. He saw me take it though and told me there was stuff on there I wasn't aloud to see...He doesn't even know who I am... and then he tried to hit me in the face when I told him that I needed it. So, naturally, I defended myself."

"What did you do?!"

"I just sat down in my chair and told him to leave me alone..then I saw he was going to try and puch me again, so I leaned down and kicked him in the face. I got him right in the nose, that's why the blood got on me. I didn't kick him that hard though."

Saskia's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised.

"Holy crap Batman! Where was your teacher at?! Does Dad know?! Are you in trouble?!"

Eneko shook his head, putting his dripping umbrella away in his bag. The sky was empty now, the rain, a barley even noticable mist.

"They called Father, but he's not mad, it was self defence after all. The kid didn't even talk after that happend, becasue I think his nose was broken, he was crying. So no one knows that I had taken the map."

Saskia sighed, shrugging.

"So...do we have time today...to go back?!" Saskia asked, his voice a bit low.

Eneko looked at his brother with serious features, his young face looking beyond his years.

"Are we going to hang out at Ivans?"

Saskia smilied slyly, his face devilishly graceful.

"Of course we are. I'll call Dad now."

XXXXXXXX

They arrived two hours later at the back gates of Seven Voice's academy much the way they had the last time they had come. And much like the last time they came...it was raining.

"Man, it's so dark..it's kind of beautiful." Eneko said, looking around him. The school looked the same as it did when they were younger, but Eneko didn't feel any older, or any more in control over the situation. He still felt a twinge of fear, fear of the unknown. He didn't know what he would find buried deep within the forbidden confinds of the brick and stone. Things hidden for years in the dust and darkness of their parents past.

Unlike the last time they were here though, they walked through the back doors with serious features, unafraid of being caught. They're footsteps weren't silent and they didn't sneak around the shadowed corners as they headed toward the Main Laboratory. They looked down at the map they shared in they're hands with a new confidence. They had made the decision to do this, and they weren't afraid of getting caught, only of what they may find.

"It's over here, I think." Eneko said, pointing down the hall. "I'm going into the Courtyard, I just have this feeling that we'll find something out there."

Saskia frowned, shaking his head.

"No way,I know you're usually right when you have these kinds of 'feelings' but if you want to investigate, I'm going. You head into the lab. You're better at knowing where to look for this kind of stuff. Ok."

It took Eneko a minute to agree to the compromise, but he had a strong feeling that outside in the darkness of the new night, something was there, some kind of secret.

"Fine, but you text me or call me if something comes up, I"ll do the same."

Saskia bit his lip and nodded, his eyebrows knit together. He leaned down and drew his little brother into his arms, hugging him tightly. Usually Eneko would protest, but for some reason he melted into his hold, comforted and secure.

"Be safe." Saskia said before he turned to leave.

Eneko nodded and went the other way, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

XXXXXX

It was too dark to see, almost. There was an antique street light that rested in the middle of the Courtyard providing little releif for the darkness of the early night. It smelled wonderful despite how dangerous it felt to Saskia alone in dark.

Saskia stumbled through a patch of wild flowers that grew to jungelous levels, dry and stale. They smelled beautifully like decay, Saskia always liked the way dying flowers smelled. He almost tripped over a loose brick in the ground and then looked up suddenly and spotted a figure, slumped over, crouching in the mist. Kneeling over something with a large red candle, the figure seemed to be resting at an alter or an tombstone. It was adorned with freshly cut White Crysanthemums and a large baby angle with it's finger over it's lips, shushing.

Saskia strained to see this figure dressed in white and black...it's movements were graceful and agile. Like that of a feline. The figure rose to it's full height as Saskia watched in awe. It was huge, a statuesqe figure that reached to the black heavens of the night, almost glowing in white like a real-life seraph. Saskia almost expected to see it sprout large flowing gossamer wings, the way it looked with it's long silvery hair and tall regal posture.

"You...who are you?" It was a question, the luminous figure had asked him in a low and melodic voice, but it sounded more like an accusation.

Saskia felt as though he was in a dream like atmosphere, the way everything looked and felt so beautifully overwhelming. The way the smells were both familiar and new, exquisite and lushly disgusting. Mist floated through twilight on the wind like sugar, gracing his face with a cool sweetness. It felt so unbelievably good on his suddenly hotly nervous cheeks.

The figure turned it's pale glittering eyes on him, it's distincly masculine face plunged into a grimace. Saskia couldn't speak, he couldn't utter a word as he stared at the angel with surprise, looking like a deer in headlights.

The figure moved closer, until he was close enough to look into Saskia's entranced features. Saskia felt himself gasp quietly, his breath barley leaving his chest, his eyes unblinking.

The creature was now face to face with him, with a wonderous look of shock, his lovely mouth slightly agape, his eyes surprised.

"You...you're intruding." He said so close to him now, Saskia was breathing the same hot air as the angel.

Saskia felt his ears flatten to his head, his boyish face unable to hide his fear.

"I-I...what are you?" Saskia whispered barley audible. The creater flattened it's ears as well, staring into Saskia's eyes with amative emotion.

"You must die." The angel said with without a waver in his ariose voice.

Saskia almost felt like he should succumb to this sudden statement, like he should let the angel steal away his life without a fight, almost as if he may even owe it to him.

"Please..." Saskia said,reaching his hand toward the angel's immaculate face, letting just the tips of his fingers graze his skin.

The angel didn't like the gesture, it's porcelain feature's stained a deep rosey red and he pulled away, his lips twisted into a sudden grimace.

"Prepare to die, intruder, prepare your self for battle."

Saskia gasped, suddenly being shaken from his sensational dream and awakening into a world of panic.

"Wh-at what?! Who are you?!" Saskia demanded. "You can't kill me just for being here, that's not right!"

"Activate Sentou systems." The angel said, his voice deep, resonating in his ears like music.

The rain then began to pour out from the heavens, leaving it's crystal touch in Saskia's hair and lashes, covering the two in a sudden blanket of saccharine vadose. A light flashed across the spilling sky, like lightening, it covered the entirety of the heavens, illuminating Saskia's amazed features, his face stricken with astonishment.

The luminesince was flowing from The angle's body, making him seem more ethereal than Saskia had first imagined.

Again, Saskia couldn't move, it was as if he lacked the stregth to do more than watch with his mouth agape. He became startled by a burning pain on the inside of his hip, it was as if something was tryinging to sear it's through his skin, a powerful blaze of something foreign...something infantile...something devistating.

"AHHH!" Saskia cried out, falling to his knees. Instinctivly his, hands reached down to his coutorized hip. He ripped the sopping wet shirt from his pants, lifting it over his stomach with shaky hands. Blood overflowed from his strange wound, oozing over his tremorous hands and seeping into the fibers of his clothes, mixing with the water and becoming runny.

He hadn't heard the silent groan of the angel, as the creature looked on at Saskia, it's features shocked into horror, yeilding to his certain fear...and his long white yukata covered in blood.

Saskia gasped, his eyes unbeliving. His wound was some how self inflicted...it had come from his body and at once he knew what it was, what iit meant to him, how important it was. It was a grotesque wound, coated in caking blood although the sky was showering the night with so much rain. It held the truth in it's heavy black lines, in familiar cuts and grooves. And to Saskia, it read one very absolute word, a name. It read "Oblivion".

The angel was at his side looking at the new wound with unbelieveing eyes. He bent down to touch Saskia, to run his fingers over the lacerations they now shared.

"Do you have this too?" Saskia asked weakly, feeling suddenly faint.

The angel nodded, his eyes certian and ravenous, reaching into Saskia's soul.

"Will you kill me now...I can't fight...I feel so weak."

The angel's gaze widened, his features sullen.

"No...never."

Saskia wanted to badly to be in the angel's arms now, so suddenly he wanted to rest with him, to be comforted by him. His words seemed to sure, so real and absolute.

He stumbled forward, reaching out with his slender hand for the angel's grasp. He felt reckless, he felt like he was drowning in the rain of his dreams, his mind muddled and his body effete. Saskia's kness buckeld below him and he fell forward onto the muddy ground as he quickly lost consciousness.

Emmaline thew himself onto his knees, reaching for Saskia, pulling him into his arms. This was what he was hoping would never happen. This was what he had never wanted. He didn't want anyone to know he wasn't a blank Sentoki, that the Oracle had told him, and only him...that somewhere...someone shared his name. His name, Oblivion.

Aoyagi Saskia, this high school boy, this creature of honest beauty was his...he belonged to this boy now. And everything thing in the pit of his being, in the core of his very soul, screamed out to him...you will love this boy.

You will love this boy...you love this boy....you must protect this boy.

He is your Sacrifice.

Emmaline held Saskia tight to his body, wiping the mud from his beauteous face with his sleeve. He looked quickly for a place to run and hide, a place to get Saskia out of the wet and cold, and to a place the was safe and warm. Every fiber of himself told him to run, told him to protect this boy.

He cradled Saskia in his arms and ran to where he knew his car was parked, sheilding him from the rain as best as could. He struggled to open the back door and then placed his limp body onto the dry seat. He reached down onto the floor pulling up his long black jacket, wrapping it around the Saskia's soaking chest and shoulders. Hopefully this would be Ok, until he got back to his apartment. He could care for him then, nurse their new wounds, the identical wounds they shared.


	4. Child of Ritsuka

Lightning illuminated the sky as Emmaline sat in his car, the engine off and the keys hanging in the ignition. He leaned his back against the seat and stared up at his apartment, his body shaking and his icy eyes large and imploring.

What the hell was he doing? What the was he going to do? Why was he just sitting here convulsing like a frightened child?

He turned his head to stare in the backseat, studying the latent figure unconscious under his wrinkled jacket. He had taken the boy and ran, escaping the strange scene of mud and blood alike, behind. He was supposed to kill him, he had avoided doing so earlier that day, but it was like he had come looking for trouble, asking to be murdered.

And if he hadn't become his other half he would be dead.

Saskia…what a name. His name had held no significance two hours ago, but now it was everything. Or rather they name they now shared, the name called Oblivion.

Emmaline sighed, drawing his brows together in a slight grimace. As he threw the door of his car open, he leaned his head down just missing hitting himself as he stepped out into the downpour. He swung his lengthy ponytail over his shoulder before bending down to throw the door open the backdoor.

"Come on now, Sacrifice." Emmaline sighed. "Let's get you cleaned up."

He groaned a bit as he heaved Saskia's dead weight into his open arms. He stared at the younger boys sleeping face for a moment, his eyebrows drawn in concentration. He looked like a child napping, his mouth almost smiling.

Emmaline's stomach jumped, and he flinched in surprise, his face donning almost confused features for a moment.

"What is happening to me…?"

Dripping from the mud the blood and the rain, Emmaline carried his sacrifice carefully up the stairs. He bumped the front door open with his hip and continued into a bare living room, cold air hitting him and giving a quick shiver as he made his way to the claustrophobic bathroom.

Saskia's sentoki laid him down adroitly on the cold tile; he lifted the boys blood drenched shirt, his glacial eyes searching his new wound, memorizing its clear lines and symmetry.

"Oh…" he whispered, the bizarre feeling of awe still haunting him as he stared.

Emmaline threw of his sopping white robe stained pink, and then leaned his lean body over Saskias, ripping his shirt over his head. Emmaline flinched, awkwardly staring at the boys narrow chest. He felt his face burning as he tried to hold his composure, his face retaining a stern look of perplexity.

This was Aoyagi Seimei's kid, obviously; how could he be stuck with such feelings of overwhelming sentiment relating so closely to adoration? He had a passionate loathing for Seimei, how could he be in his bathroom with his flesh and blood…trying to care for him.

Emmaline covered his mouth and nose with his large hand, his eyes almost glaring at his sacrifices shirtless form. He leaned back against the wall, unable to move his gaze as he sank to the floor in a missive pathetic heap.

He couldn't do this by himself, he had no idea how he could even get himself to uncloth him, much less throw him in the bathtub to wash the blood off. As much as he hated to admit to such things, he had to give up and say he was in over his head. He jerked his oversized jacket off of the rest of Saskia's body and hurriedly fished his phone out of the pocket. He dialed quickly, and held the phone up to his ear, his hands still quivering just a bit. It rang twice before he heard a voice pick up on the other end.

He sighed.

"Hello?"

"Elise?"

"Emme?

" J'ai besoin de vous…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eneko shivered, hiding in the corner of the west end library. He had the rig a few locks to get inside, so he was sure he could hide out there at least until he could figure out what to do. He had seen his brother get kidnapped but an eighty- foot monster with white hair. He wasn't sure what had happened but for the last two hours he was sure the strange creature was coming back for him.

He had realized that who ever the yeti monster was, he wasn't going to come back, at least not to night. He knew if he told his parents they would be furious at both of them, but he was afraid for Saskia's safety. He had no way of getting home, no way of figuring out how took his brother, or of getting something in his stomach so he could think rationally.

He continued to shake as he pulled his knees closer to his chest. He had heard breathing coming from the other side of the library, whoever it was they were sleeping and they didn't seem to be bothering anyone. A student, Eneko presumed, hiding out.

He wanted to find something to eat, he couldn't think right when he was hungry and he had to come up with some kind of game plan.

"How long are you going to sit there cowering?" a deep voice beckoned from the shadows.

Eneko startled out of his deep thought, almost jumping out of the corner he was sitting in, and tumbling out onto the floor.

"H-how did you know I was here, huh? I made virtually no noise getting in here."

He said this, his tone of voice almost whining. ( he hated being mistaken)

"I've known you were here this whole time…I can smell you…"

The voice was daunting, it sounded almost as though he was trying to scary him purposely, which infuriated the young boy. Eneko glared, wrinkling up his pointed nose.

"I'm not a stupid grade school idiot, I know there's no possible way you can smeel me from where you are, you must have heard me come in, despite the care I took in being undetected."

"You're almost familiar, your scent, the way you talk you sound just like…him."

Eneko frowned in confusion, the stranger's words infuriating him. He narrowed his eyes into the darkness, his boyish face hard.

"You're the one cowering! If you knew I was hiding here, why didn't you show yourself , huh? Instead of saying stupid things like 'I smell you' or something. What are you even doing in here in the middle of the night?"

It was silent for a moment, and Eneko almost regretted spouting off like he did, but then he could a shallow laughter, almost like he was mocking him. Eneko seethed.

"what's so damn funny?"

Without thinking, the boy jumped out of his hiding spot and headed straight for where the voice had been coming from, his arms at his side and his hands tucked into fists.

He stormed deeper into the darkness of the West End Library, kicked small piled of books and magazines out of his way, he was sure he was almost to where the figure must be waiting for him, but suddenly he became startled by the lightning from the storm outside.

Vicious light cracked through the windows of the Library, illuminating everything around him for a whisper of a moment; and what he saw stole his breath away.

In a corner, chained to the floor…could his eyes have deceived him? There was a man there, he was tall and dark his eyes looked red…and they seemed to glow for seconds after the light shown in them. He has ears, a tail…and a ripped shirt, blood stain and ragged at the sleeves.

And did he really see…fangs? Claws?

Or was he jus afraid from the event prior to his hasty refuge?

The figure started to laugh again, deep, almost angry.

"You're scared now aren't you?" It said, sounding amused. "I'm not surprised."

Eneko refused to let his senses override his resolve. He would not take a step back, although his mind was screaming at him to run away. He grit his teeth.

"I'm not afraid of you. You're chained to the floor."

The creature sighed.

"Yes, I'm chained to the floor, because otherwise I couldn't control myself, and I'd have to eat you."

"Eat me?" he exclaimed unbelievingly. "You'd eat a person? What the hell are you?"

"A figure of your imagination."

"Impossible."

"You really must be akin to him… Ritsu Sensei."

Eneko was taken aback for a moment, his features confused.

"You knew Ritsu? Before he died?"

"Yes."

"How? He was your teacher? What do you know? Do you know who that eighty foot tall guy was outside? Tell me everything!" Eneko cried, stepping forward a few more feet.

The creature chuckled.

"You tell me what I want to know and I'll tell you, child…you do look like him too, the same face the same hair…the same scent."

Eneko pursed his lips angrily, his ears flattening to his head.

"Fine what could you possibly want to know about me? You don't even know who I am."

"On the contrary, I might know more about you than you think. Now tell me who your parent are."

The young boy let out a frustrated sigh.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

"Try me." The creature piped.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka is my Dad, Aoyagi Seimei is my Father."

"So it is true then…the curse. That Ritsu had an experiment that didn't fail."

"Huh? He did that to my Dad?"

"Yes."

Eneko sucked in a breath, his stomach turning at his excitement.

"What did he do to him?"

"Not ah…you need to answer another of mine, Child of Ritsuka."

"What! But-."

"Now…do you have a brother?"

"Yes, an older one, but-."

"Then I was right, you are both descendants of Ritsu, I could tell, you have a part of his soul in you."

"Wha…but…Ritsu, he was the Headmaster, I'm not his descendant. Me Dad-."

"No." The creature cut Eneko off, with a smile the boy could hear in his words. "Ritsu is your late grandfather."


	5. You are to be my Master

"So what's the problem exactly? You do know what time it is, brother. I have school in the morning at nine."

Emmaline leaned in the door way staring out at his younger sister. She looked nothing like him, her short wavy black hair barley reaching her chin, her hard eyes the same color of her hair. Perhaps the only thing they might share was some height…and their mother.

"I-I found my sacrifice…I-I need help, please."

She frowned for a moment, looking confused, then she sighed and pushed her way through her brother and into his vacant living room.

"Jesus Emme, you're a mess. I'd never seen you beg for anything before, much less for someone to help you."

Emmaline's already troubled features darkened, his lips in a hard line.

"I don't appreciate that. I've never asked you or anyone for anything. I-I just cant do this, I'm going to loose it."

Elise crossed her arms, studying her brother with skeptical features, her fingers drumming on the side of her arm.

"Okay then, frère sans cervelle, what do you need from me?"

Emmaline ignored her brainless brother comment, starting at her with intent almost pleading eyes.

"My sacrifice is passed out in the bathroom, he's all bloody, like I am. I need to clean him up…but- but I just can't get myself to do it."

She raised a brow curiously.

"Is he okay? You want me to help you clean him?"

Emmaline nodded sheepishly.

"I-I can't…take his clothes off…"

Elise pursed her lips, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

"Well let's go to the bathroom, we'll have to survey the damage. You look like a mess by the way, covered in dirt and blood, it's rather disgusting…"

The sentoki sighed inwardly as he followed his bossy sister into the bathroom, still almost nervous to see Saskia's form lying there.

"So where is-OH MY GOD- this can't be right Emmaline!"

"What?" he exclaimed, his brow furrowed.

His sister was standing in the narrow doorway staring, her features befuddled, the confusion apparent in her wavering voice.

"This- this is…Aoyagi Seimei?"

Emmaline took another deep breath, glaring down at his feet.

"No, this is his son, Saskia."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ritsuka stared out the window, the rain had finally let up as he gazed out at the moon covered in thin passing clouds.

He sighed.

"Where are our children, Seimei? I'm worried it's eleven and I haven't heard from them yet, either of them."

Seimei looked up at his husband through his bangs, laying his book in his lap.

"I'm sure they're fine, you saw that storm, they 're just going to stay at Saskia's friend's house. It's no big deal my love."

Ritsuka wandered over to the couch, sitting on the side of it as he rested an arm on Seimei's shoulder, his features concerned.

"I suppose, it's just not like them not to call or e-mail or something…I just have a feeling…"

His older brother, chuckled under his breath, staring up at Ritsuka with a smirk.

"You mean it's not like Eneko not to call, hmmm?"

Ritsuka smiled for a moment, reaching up to pet Seimei's soft hair.

"Yes, your right, but still I just-."

Seimei cut his lover off, pulling the smaller man into his lap and holding him tightly to his chest, nuzzling the inside of his neck.

"Everything's fine, little brother."

Ritsuka gasped, wriggling around in Seimei's unyielding arms.

"Seimei! What are you- hey! You haven't called me that in years! You better be careful not to make it a habit again!"

He laughed softly, kissing Ritsuka down his neck and shoulder. His brother shivered, giggling childishly.

"You know." Seimei whispered. "We're alone…we could kiss some more."

Ritsuka sopped giggling suddenly, and a blush stained his cheeks."

"Okay! I'll race you to the bedroom!" He exclaimed, trying to jump out of Seimei's iron grip.

The older man held fast.

"I don't think so, my love."

Ritsuka looked up at him in confusion, his features questioning.

"But-I thought-."

"Why go to the bedroom at all, huh? We're alone aren't we?"

Ritsuka pulled his brow together, frowning.

"Wait you want to…ohhhhh." He smiled looking up at Seimei slyly.

"Hmmm…you don't stand a chance."

Ritsuka didn't even get a chance to finish his giggle before Seimei pounced on top of him, growling happily.

"Man this name is long, no wonder the boy passed out."

Saskia heard voices, they were fuzzy and shallow at first; like he was dreaming. But as he attempted to open his eyes they became louder, and more comprehensible.

"Yes, it was rather painful, even for me. So I could imagine it was a bit unbearable for Saskia."

A deep voice.

"The poor thing, he looks just like him."

A female voice.

Then he felt hands on him, gentile hands…and some thing warm all around. Wet. Water.

He was in a tub, bathing?

There was pain too, insistent and throbbing in his side; somewhere by his hip.

"Well then, we can only hope he's as strong as Seimei is too then."

Saskia grit his teeth, willing himself to pry his eyes open. His mind refused to listen at first, his body thoroughly ignoring his brain. He sucked in a breath, concentrating, and then suddenly they opened, light flooding his vision and blinding him.

"Ah!" He grunted, trying to sit up in the water as he adjusted his sight.

Colors were a blur, running together. He heard the female voice exclaim something as he tried to sit up. He grabbed for something solid, his fingers grazing the tubside and slipping; sending him back downwards into the shallow water.

He coughed.

"Look at him, trying to get up. Do you think he's aware of anything yet?" The female voice asked, sounding amused.

Saskia growled.

He sat still for a moment, his eye sight beginning to align with reality. He saw a figure, the woman sitting over him, her sleeves pulled up and her hands wet from the bath. She was fuzzy at first then, slowly she became a clear and beautiful face, smirking.

"Hello Saskia, are you awake now?"

He stared at her for a moment, confused. How did he get here? Who were these people? How did he pass out? Where had he been earlier?

"I…" he tried, through the dripping lukewarm water.

He looked passed her, searching for the other voice, the deep one. It had seemed familiar, like a memory.

That's when he saw him.

He was standing shirtless over the sink, washing blood from his chest and face, rosy pink water trailing down his pallid skin. He was so monstrously tall, his white hair hanging in wet strands to the small of his back. He looked over his shoulder at Saskia, and his eyes were piercing, as though they were looking through his soul like shallow glass.

"S- Soubi?" Saskia whispered in certain awe. But this creature was not Soubi, he just had a face like his, but with a hard edge; an animalistic hunger.

"I'm not your Soubi, child." He said, glaring at him through damp bangs. "I'm Emmaline, your sentoki."

Saskia sat up, slower this time, careful not to slip again. The woman smiled at him.

"Welcome to the real world." She whispered, a slight smile on her face. "He's going to be the rest of your life, so you better say it's nice to meet you."

He tried to take this in, his head swimming. He looked back to the one called Emmaline, and then to the wound in his side; he then jumped in surprise, his large eyes imploring. It was wound, but it was a word.

Oblivion.

"What-what." He stammered, gazing at his side.

"It's your name." Emmaline stated, turning from the sink to face his sacrifice. "I have one too."

Surely enough, the same wound carved it's self into Emmaline's pristine skin, looking as- one with the muscle there.

Saskia blushed hard, suddenly recalling his nakedness. He shut his knees together aggressively, ignoring the pain and shoving them beneath his chin.

"Sentoki? I have one of those? I thought…well they were only childhood stories…"

Emmaline gazed with unchanging features, his arms crossed against his bare chest.

"It is truth, the Sentoki and Sacrifice bond. You and I…we are one."

Saskia felt his face burn even hotter, his lips in a pout. He wasn't sure he wanted to be one with anyone, much less someone who looked like a serial killer or and angel of death.

"I'm not sure I understand. You mean the fighting, the battles…are really real? Soubi wasn't just making these things up as a bedtime story?"

"Soubi." He said this name this blunt disdain, his eyes almost conveying hurt.

"You know him?" Saskia exclaimed. "He's almost like an uncle or something to my family."

"Yes. I know of him."

"Come let's get you out." the woman held her arms out with a towel, like his father did when he was a child.

Saskia nodded, covering himself as he stepped out and into the towel. He shivered a bit, more from the pain in his side than from the chill. He pulled the fluffy towel around himself and stood there awkwardly, dripping onto the tile.

"How do you know Soubi? From the Septimal Moon?"

He looked up at his Sentoki and he had look of shock on his face, something he hadn't expected.

"How do you know about Septimal Moon?"

"I've heard stories, they're always the bad guys."

Emmaline pulled his look of surprise back into a grimace, his mouth a hard line.

"I'm a member of Septimal Moon."

Saskia's eyes widened, hiding deeper in the towel.

"Oh…is that right? Is that how you know Soubi?"

"No, and yes."

The woman walked back into the bathroom (Saskia had barley realized that she had left) she was carrying some clothes folded in her hands.

"Oh Emme are you going to tell him everything while he's standing here nude? Come on."

She handed the clothes to Saskia, smiling. They were pjs…they looked a little feminine.

"These are mine, your uniform is in the wash, your much to small to fit into any of Emme's clothes. Hope you don't mind."

He stared down at the fleese striped pants, he had to admit that they felt comfortable.

"Of course not, thank you."

She looked up at her brother, raising a brow, her hands in her hips.

"Well I'll be in the bedroom, don't be so harsh okay."

Emmaline didn't respond as he watched her leave, he just stood there. Leaning on the wall.

"I knew of Soubi from Ritsu Sensei, when I was a child."

"Was he that renowned?"

"Yes Saskia, but I learned of him for different reasons I suppose."

Saskia turned around, dropping the towel to the floor. Emmaline gasped, covering his node and mouth with his large hand, while Saskia slid on the warm pajama pants and pulled the t-shirt over his head.

"I feel like a homo in these…" He said to himself, turning back around to face his Sentoki.

"Jesus." Emmaline muttered.

"Well why did Ritsu tell you anyway? Same reason you know my name?"

"No. Soubi is my father."

Saskia looked at him with dazed features, his eyes large.

"W-what?" He whispered, staring hard at Emmaline's arresting face. The plains of hard beauty, they matched with Soubi's, the cheek bones, the narrow nose. If Emmaline had darker hair, glasses and a smile it would a perfect copy.

"Oh…oh my god. Soubi has a son. How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"O-oh, wow…he must have been-."

"Fifteen."

"How-."

"It's a long story, Saskia. Let's get you into the bed. You need to sleep off this wound."

Saskia frowned, flinging the towel onto the towel rack.

"How do you sleep off a wound?"

"By sleeping."

"Oh. I didn't know that was possible."

Emmaline reached down and grabbed Saskia's arm, making the boy flinch in response. But the touch was electrifying, amazing at the least. Saskia shivered at the contact of Emmaline's skin on his own. He had never felt anything like that before.

If Emmaline felt it as well, Saskia couldn't tell, the way he held his composure. But with the touch came a flood of memories, the confrontation, the searing pain in his side, the blood, the rain…and Emmaline's astounding touch.

Saskia almost felt as though he had the wind knocked out of him.

"Oh…oh my god Emmaline…"

His Sentoki stopped in his tracks on his way to lead Saskia into his bedroom.

"What is it?"

"My brother! He's in Gora!"

"You have a brother?" He exclaimed, his face breaking its stoic mask.

"Yes a younger one, Eneko. We have to go back!"

Emmaline seemed to think for a moment, his eyes concentrated.

"I'll send Elise, what does he look like?"

"Umm, short hair, dark, thin, around 12."

"Hmm…mmkay. Don't worry, it will be taken care of. I'm your Sentoki, I am for you to use at your will."

"W-what?"

"You are my master."


	6. Die Gracefully in Vain

Eneko looked up startled, his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Oh my god, maybe it's my brother!" He exclaimed, yanking it out of his pocket.

"You said he was kidnapped?"

Akira Naname sat a few feet away from the young boy his legs crossed and his excessive black hair laying in his lap.

"Yeah…" The boy stated, pausing to read the message.

_Eneko, I'm fine. Elise is coming to pick you up._

_Trust her, you are safe. And yes you idiot it's really me _

_So get the skeptical look off of your little face._

_Meet her out front in ten._

"_Oh, Saskia. You stupid-ass." Eneko breathed, a smile on his face._

"_Things are okay I'm guessing." Akira asked furtively, his fangs glinting in the moonlight._

"_Yes. And…errr…thanks for the information. I'll return as soon as I can with what we agreed upon."_

_Akira grinned, his animalistic eyes catching the light, looking like growing embers._

"_Remember, I don't like the chocolate kind."_

_Eneko nodded, turning to pick up his book bag._

"_And remember, Child of Ritsuka, don't trust the one they call Emmaline. He's an assassin. He's out for blood."_

"_Right, Naname-san, I can take care of myself."_

_Eneko stated this, seriously as he opened the chained doors and stepped out, shutting them tightly behind them._

_Things were never going to be the same again._

__

"_You must rest." Emmaline's unyielding voice, hinted at irritation as he at the edge of his bed, his eyes on his sacrifice._

"_I'm not sleeping until my brother gets here. He's my responsibility. If I hadn't run off with you in the first place, I wouldn't be worrying so much." The boy huffed into the blankets, his face in his knees._

_Emmaline grimaced._

"_You didn't run off with me, Saskia, you passed out and I took you."_

"_Exactly! He must be so worried!"_

_The Sentoki rested his head in his hand, sighing deeply._

"_I don't get you, your strange way of thinking, puzzles me."_

"_Your way of…ummm…everything puzzles me."_

"_I can't see how your supposed to be Seimei's child, your nothing like I expected."_

"_I can't believe your Soubi's kid."_

_They sat in aggravated silence for a moment, both sulking wordlessly._

"_You're going to have to start training soon, so you must rest, your brother will be fine."_

_Saskia looked up from the covers, his face curious, he flattened his ears._

"_Training? To fight?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Who's going to want to fight me huh? I've never done anything to hurt anyone. I'm a nice guy."_

_Emmaline took a deep breath, facing his sacrifice with somber features._

_Saskia grimaced. "You know when you look at people like that, it scares them."_

"_Saskia, please, this is serious. Septimal Moon will kill you. You must learn, and learn quickly. Let's pray your father's blood runs powerfully through your veins. You're going to need it."_

"_S-Septimal Moon? But I thought you were a part of Septimal Moon."_

"_I am, but for you, I'm giving this up. They will hunt me down as well, whilst I stand by your side."_

_Saskia stared at his hands, his face grave; he picked at his nails._

"_Why? Why do they want to kill me? I'm just a kid, I can't hurt anyone."_

"_You're his son, Headmaster Sagan is certain that all of Seimei must be eliminated, including his flesh and blood."_

"_But why?" Saskia cried, his large eyes staring at his Sentoki in fear._

_The look on Saskia's young face made Emmaline cringe inside, his stomach twisting in knots. It took all of his self control not to let it show on his features._

"_Saskia, your father murdered a lot of people from Septimal Moon and Seven Voices. He and his late Sentoki put the school on lock down, he kidnapped people, he even faked his own death for almost two years while he waited for his own plan to unfold."_

_The look a disbelief was evident on the young boys hurt features, his ears dropped sullenly against his head as he stared up at Emmaline's icy eyes._

"_I-it cant be true…he-he could never do something like that."_

"_Believe me, my sacrifice, I would never lie to you. Your father deceived everyone, even his own little brother. He also singled handedly killed Seven Voice's late headmaster. Minami Ritsu."_

"_H-he killed the headmaster?"_

"_Yes because Minami had done experiments on his brother, whom he had apparently seduced. Your other father, Ritsuka."_

"_Father didn't seduce Dad! That I know, they are in love with each other."_

"_That maybe true, but either way, Ritsu's experiments on Ritsuka are true, and that is the reason why you exist. You and your brother both, because of this though, not only did Seimei eventually kill Ritsu, but he maimed, blinded, and scarred him."_

"_My Father blinded Ritsu?"_

"_Yes, and your parents are not fully brothers either, because they have different fathers."_

_Saskia felt as though he was going to be physically sick, he watched his Sentoki as he explained these things to him, his face stoic, unchanging._

"_Why would he do things like this?"_

_Emmaline looked to the ceiling for answers, seeing none there, he gazed back at his sacrifice._

"_He was described as mentally disturbed, a sociopath, by Ritsu's old files. This does make sense if you've seen the things he had done to people, burning them alive, digging out Ritsu's eyes, hanging his dead body from a tree. It was also on file from an unknown source that he had sewn his own neck back together after an attack, when his throat had been slit."_

_Saskia felt his heart sink as a wave of realization flushed his face. He had seen the scar on his neck, a grotesque one , just above his collar bone. So Emmaline's words were true, he and his family was in danger, because his father was a murderer._

"_S-so we fight then."_

"_Yes."_

"_Is it even possible that we win?"_

_Emmaline furrowed his brow, breaking his stare finally, to look down at the floor. He then scooted a bit closer to Saskia, the boys aura seeming to draw him nearer. He placed a hand on his shoulder._

_Saskia flushed._

"_I can't say…but the out look is grave."_

__

_Emmaline stood on the step of Seven Voices, this was the last time he was going to stand here as a member of Septimal Moon. The last time he wouldn't be attacked on site if he came._

_He pushed the doors open, passing the front desk as he headed down the hall to the Headmaster's office in the west wing. He noticed absent-mindedly, his heavy ponytail swaying as he took each step._

_His news was not going to be recepted well._

_He came to the door at the end of the hall, the one with the gold plate. He used the side of his fist to push it open, staring into the dimly lit room. _

_Youji looked up from his paperwork, his face unsurprised._

"_Emmaline, you weren't expected for another day or so, did you dispatch of him so quickly?"_

_Emmaline stared down at the headmaster's questioning face, his features hard; he rested a hand on his desk as he bent over, looking into Youji's face._

"_Listen to me Sagan, I'm not going to kill the boy, not now, not ever."_

_Youji's eyes widened in shock, a look of confusion in his eyes._

"_What? Why? Too hard to handle? It's Sensei or Headmaster by the way, you should know that by now, come on."_

"_No, he's my Sacrifice."_

_Youji's face reddened in anger, he shoved Emmaline's hand off of his desk, his eyes narrowed._

"_You god damned idiot Emmaline! You can't just choose whomever you want as a sacrifice! So stupid! You're supposed to let me choose for you, and Seimei's son none the less, I'm livid!"_

_Emmaline stood back for a moment, his features becoming so threatening it set Youji back for a moment._

"_I didn't pick this for myself, Sagan. We chose each other, fate chose for us both." He lifted his sweater, showing his taut hip, the lettering already fully healed._

_The headmaster sucked in a breath, his mouth slightly agape._

"_Oblivion."_

_He pulled his sweater back down and waited, his pale eyes expectant._

_Youji rose from his desk suddenly , his eyes intent on his target._

"_You know what this means, Agatsuma. If you choose to be with the boy, you're turning your back on Septimal Moon…you're no better than Seimei."_

_Without breaking his stare, Emmaline set his shoulders, his face severe, almost cruel looking._

"_Even if it means that I die gracefully in vein, I will stay by his side, to each other, we owe our lives from now on."_

_Youji cracked his knuckles, looking almost indignant as he dropped his gaze._

"_As you wish, from this day on, you are our enemy."_

"_Are you challenging me?"_

_Youji frowned, his features offended._

"_Without our other halves? That would be a disgrace. I'll be challenging you both, very soon, when the rules of war can be neatly drawn."_

_The sentoki finally dropped his glare, he wasn't sure why, but something inside of him was hurting._

"_Then I'm leaving, and don't both sending scouts, we will not hide from you."_

_And with that, Youji watched as his first teishi walked out of his office, he bowed his head._

_Saskia slipped his black shoes on as his younger brother helped button is navy blue uniform._

"_Dad must be so worried." Eneko stated, busily fussing with the gold buttons._

"_Nah, I texted his after I woke up, but father was kind of pissed that I waited so long to say anything."_

"_Oh great, this is just awesome, spend our break from school with your stupid murdering sentoki. I'd rather go home and forget any of this happened to us."_

"_We'll be home in two hours quite whining. And quite insulting my sentoki, you shouldn't say things like that about people you barley know. He saved me you know."_

_Eneko humped, brushing his hair behind his ear._

"_Whatever, he's full of shit, I found out from a reliable source."_

_Saskia glared at his brother, giving the younger boy chills._

"_Quit, you look like father."_

"_I like to make judgments about people after I get to know them. Your being a jerk. So what if he's a little creepy."_

"_Creepy could qualify as understatment of the century. He's just going to get you into trouble Saskia."_

"_I can't worry about that now, I have to protect you all, Septimal Moon…" Saskia stopped, looking down at his shiny black shoes. He didn't want to worry his family about the impending danger. Emmaline would help him become strong enough…he had faith._

"_Septimal Moon what?"_

"_You never know…they always seem to be up to something."_

_Eneko rolled his eyes incredulously, crossing his skinny arms across his chest._

_Saskia sigh inwardly, his ears flattening in defeat._

"_Eneko, this is over our heads, I need Emmaline, he's going to teach me everything I need to know."_

"_Saskia! People die battling like this, you can't just go into this with your head up your ass! You'll get yourself killed!"_

"_Emmaline won't let me get killed. That's why I need to train Eneko."_

_Saskia looked at his younger brother, his glare defensive. He didn't know why he was so insistent on defending a man he didn't even know, he never fought with his brother._

"_You're stupid if you think you can be some amazing sacrifice. You're not Father, so you should quit trying to be him."_

"_I know I'm not Father! I wish everyone would stop fucking comparing me to him!"_

_Eneko, looked sullenly down at his feet, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat._

_He hated this. He had only wanted to know more…and look where it had gotten him._

"_I don't think you should just go around trusting everyone that looks your way. You're gonna get yourself maimed."_

_Saskia looked up at Eneko, his eyes resentful, he furrowed his brow, his lips in a pout._

"_You don't understand how it feels. I can't just say no to fate, I've been chosen for this, for Emmaline…and him for me. What else can I do, there's no choice."_

"_Who the hell told you don't have a choice? Huh?" The younger boy exclaimed, his features pleading. "You are your own destiny! Don't leave something as important as your life to fate!"_

"_No one told me this…" Saskia pointed to his chest, his eyes sad. "I feel it here."_


	7. His Touch was Like a Drug

Emmaline sat with his large legs crossed in his lap, his normally stoic face, softened, intent.

He stared at the beautiful woman before him, her lengthy black hair braided down her frail narrow shoulder.

"It looks to me like you are on a new life path…or so you think. But what you fail to understand is that your path was set for you long ago, in the footsteps of your ancestors."

Emmaline stared, his brow furrowed in perplexed thought.

"I really don't understand how something like this could be my real path, I feel so strongly the opposite. I feel I am betraying…"

The woman shook her head, her youthful looks defied the age in her intelligent eyes.

"You've been made to feel you owe an allegiance to the Septimal Moon alliance for your entire life, but I am certain that the bond of a name is truth, and this, in the end, is true destiny."

Emmaline studied his hands, absorbing the woman's words into his warring mind.

He sighed.

"I don't ever remember caring if my future was a dark one, in fact I almost knew it would be. But now that I'm pulling Saskia down with me it makes me feel strangely….It makes me feel guilty. I didn't know I was capable of such an emotion."

"You are human, and capable of every emotion, I regret to say what I see in your near future is not going to soothe how you're feeling though." She let out a deep breath. " I see, there are two figures, dark, vicious, not of our small world that we dwell in. These people will bring the destruction of all. Like your name, Oblivion."

"Two dark figures… from Septimal Moon?"

"No…Not like us, not a sacrifice nor sentoki…perhaps not even human. They are a pair bonded deeply, I feel it deep inside of me. Emmaline, they will bring with them, our universe crumbling around us."

This news was surprising to the sentoki, a sudden blow to his resolve that made him quiver just the slightest bit.

"What could this possibly be? Will we die trying to save ourselves. I-I just can't let that happen to my sacrifice. It's appalling to even consider."

The woman sat very still, her large eyes lost, her mind delving into murky waters.

"I feel that death is imminent. But the death of whom…I cannot say. But this death will strongly affect your life; your future…the future of our people will change. I am certain of it."

This wasn't what Emmaline was hoping to hear, but he had met with the Oracle out here in the secret woods of Gora for a reason, he needed guidance. Even risking the Oracle's life meeting with her like this, he just needed to know he was doing what was right.

"They don't know you're here right? I can't have your blood on my conscience as well."

She nodded gracefully, his features solemn.

"I may not be able to leave the school, but I am aloud a walk when I please, Emmaline…I apologize that the outlook for you is so dim and hazed…"

Emmaline let his growing defeat show on his face, just a bit, his pale eyes arrested.

"But I do know something else, you will know a great joy, there will be a life changing happiness in your soul when this ends… whether or not it means you will succeed in saving Saskia's life, I can't tell. But I hope this helps you."

As Emmaline rose from his seat on the stump, he held his hand for the older woman to grasp. She accepted it , her slender fingers gripping his.

She pulled the hood of her velveteen robe over her head, pulling it tight against the late night wind.

We can meet again like this soon, I'll help in the freedom of our people in any way I can, I feel it is dire that I do so; even if it means putting myself at risk. Hold no guilt for my participation."

The sentoki inclined his head to her, in a short but respectful bow and the two turned to go their separate ways.

XXXX

Saskia stared up blindly at the teacher of his literature class, his eyes following absent mindedly as the lithe woman passed back and forth in front of him. His thoughts where elsewhere these past few days.

Emmaline was constantly in his head. He had barley paid attention in class anymore. He hadn't seen him since his short vacation from school the week before, he didn't even know when he would see him again.

"When its time, I'll be waiting for you."

That's all he had said before he dropped both him and Eneko off last Monday.

It was Thursday.

He laid his head deeper into his palm, daydreaming obviously, his stare dazed.

How could he just shrug him off like that…after what happened that night, thinking about it made Saskia's chest wretch.

The night he had passed out, the night he learned his name, he had seen his sentoki, talked to him, experienced his electrifying touch. He gave him his bed, and slept on the floor, his back against the wall adjacent to him. He was sleeping there to protect him.

A boy he didn't even know.

He says he doesn't care about me, Saskia thought to himself, but I know he's lying to me. I felt him when touched my arm, it made me feel it even more. But what does it mean? Is it like love? No it's not love…it's suffocating, it's an extreme attachment. And it literally hurts me not to be with him.

"Aoyagi- san, HEllO!"

Saskia jerked his head instinctively toward the voice, snapping out of his reverie.

"Huh-wha?" he blinked, his gaze slowly focusing on the figure in front of him.

It was Okoi Koji, another student council member; had the teacher already stopped her lesson for the day?

"There you are! You looked like you left earth for a little while, Aoyagi-san. You missed the meeting yesterday, are you coming to the one after school today?"

Saskia contemplated this for a moment, his brows narrowed. School just didn't seem to matter right now, not since he learned the danger his family was in, how he had incoherently become a part of his father's murdering legacy by merely bearing his name.

"Uh…oh yes, I'll be there, sorry about yesterday."

The girl stood there her face determined, her hands in fists on her hips, she huffed.

"Saskia you haven't been yourself lately, you've barley said a word to anyone, you missed meetings. You just look confused, what's going on with you?"

Saskia wrinkled his nose, his lips pursed.

"That's awfully forward of you to say Okoi-san."

The girl withdrew suddenly, her face a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, that came out wrong." She whispered, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "I'll see you at the meeting later."

Saskia's ears flattened, ignoring the girl as she walked off. When was his day going to come…what was he going to do till then?

He continued to stare ahead numbly as the bell buzzed over the intercom and students leaped from their chairs. He rose slowly.

"Everything alright Aoyagi-kun?" His teacher asked as he passed by her desk, his backpack on his shoulder.

"Sure." Saskia shrugged nonchalantly, his hand nervously fidgeting with the strap of his bookbag.

"Ok, well let me know if there's anything you need." She said without another glance, her fingers busily leafing through a stack of papers.

He just nodded as he walked out. He had to meet Ivan for his walk to Eneko's school.

As he walked through the front doors he spotted Ivan quickly, leaning on a poll by the rose garden, smoking a cigarette. He noticed him just a fast.

"Over here Kia-chan! Hurry you're so damn slow." Ivan called out to him as he weaved his way through the crowds of people.

Saskia pulled a smile from his features, feeling just a bit relived.

"Sorry about that, my teacher was talking to me. How was class?"

Ivan shrugged, putting his arm around Saskia's shoulder like usual.

It was normal, boring and torturous. I was talkin to Heiji –kun and he thinks that we should have a party at your place, but of course I set him straight. I-."

Ivan stopped abruptly as he saw his friend cringe a bit, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. He frowned.

"What is it Kia? You've been acting strange all week, are you on heroin? My cousin was on that stuff and he spaced out all the time. Saskia?"

Saskia jerked into consciousness again, his heart beating rapidly.

"I-I don't know, I just feel so anxious, my stomach just turned."

He braced himself on Ivan a bit as they rounded the corner toward Eneko's middle school. He took in a deep breath, staring into the mass of people coming and going from the parking lot.

"Whoa check that guy out, he's got to be a hundred feet tall…"

Saskia whipped his head into the direction that his friend had inclined. His heart jumping into his throat desperately. He sucked in a breath as he stared at the man across the street…his icy eyes stared back. Saskia went rigid against Ivan's side, stopping in his tracks.

His friend frowned.

"Wha- Saskia are you ok?"

Without a moment's notice Saskia leapt into the street, dropping his bag on the sidewalk and running into traffic; making his friend gasp in surprise.

"Saskia!" He demanded staring dumbfoundedly as he watched him dart passed pedestrians and cars honked at him.

"Oh Emmaline!" Saskia choked as he stood before his sentoki, throwing his arms around his narrow waist, he squeezed Emmaline's hard body.

Emmaline sucked in a sharp breath.

"Please, Saskia, everyone is watching you." He whispered, resting his boney hands on his sacrifices shoulders.

Saskia pulled away from his embrace and narrowed his eyes, his face suddenly mimicking his father's.

"How could you do this to me? Huh? Just leaving me like this after everything! It's been driving me insane. Don't you even understand how it feels? You heartless asshole."

Emmaline felt his heart jerk a bit at his Sacrfice's harsh words, his face sinking into a grimace.

"It had to be done, I had things to take care of."

Saskia just folded his arms across his chest, his beautiful features angry.

"Didn't you say I was your master? Huh? Well don't ever do that to me again. I want to know what you're doing and how long we're going to be apart so I don't have to sit and wonder when I'm ever going to see you again."

Emmaline glared stubbornly, his long ponytail whipping around in the wind.

"It was only four days…"

"So, you should know out of anyone how bad it hurt to be apart from you. I don't want to suffer like that again."

"That's fine just stop with the affection in public… everyone is staring,"

"Stop it!" Saskia demanded, his features frustrated and disapproving. "I don't care what anyone thinks, if I have to hold your hand or hug to feel our connection, I will. I can't believe your giving me crap for hugging when you know how torturous it was to be apart from you. What are you some kind of masochist?"

Emmaline knew how badly he needed the physical touch of his other half, he had been without it for days and it made him sick, almost weak. But he hadn't expected Saskia to understand the physics of their attachment so quickly; much less that he would react to strongly when they finally met again.

"Well sentokis often are masochistic in nature. But still you don't need-."

"I'm your sacrifice, have you forgotten who's giving the orders?" Saskia said this sternly, cutting Emmaline off with discord.

Saskia then reached up and with his slender hands he grabbed Emmaline on either side of his face, pulling him down so forcefully that he couldn't object. The sacrifice crushed his lips to his, seizing fist-fulls of Emmaline's hair as he kissed him deeply, his tongue parting his sentoki's soft and slightly yielding lips.

Emmaline eyes widened to the point of pain. He gasped into Saskia's mouth, his heart hammering his chest as he tried to resist the feelings swarming his gut. The boy deepened the kiss almost immediately, countering his sentoki's apparent rejection, forcing Emmaline to comply with his gesticulation.

He then unwillingly submitted him, to his kiss, as he couldn't resist the urge inside of him to kiss back. He felt the sudden and urgent tug of arousal, as he allowed his body to return the affection, his tongue moving languidly against Saskia's, their lips pressed together in a motion sweetly new and primal in a way.

Emmaline wrapped his arms around Saskia's narrow waist and pushed the smaller boy's body to him, revealing his instinctive lust from his sacrifice's advances. He felt the younger boy moan agonizedly into his throat as he pulled away slowly. He warm eyes searching Emmaline's flushed face questioningly. The sentoki let out a deep breath.

It was the first time either of them had ever kissed anyone.

"See, now don't you feel better?"Saskia asked, breathlessly.

Emmaline's blushed stained his, suddenly embarrassed by his apparent arousal.

"Better is not the word I would choose." He said dejectedly, embarrassment plain on his features.

"Am I interrupting?" A voice said hesitantly from behind them.

Saskia's face immediately froze, his head turning to meet Ivan's confused face.

His cheeks were a bit rosy as well.

"OH! Umm…Ivan…sorry."

Saskia turned around to face his friend, feeling as though his hand was caught in the cookie jar.

Ivan handed him his backpack.

"We should probably head over to the middle school now, Eneko has been out for a minute now."

Ivan's gaze raised over to where Emmaline stood, his eyes searching for some kind of answer to what he had just seen. The sentoki glared at him.

"Oh my god you're right! We have to go! Emmaline, come, I have to pick up my brother."

With that Saskia turned toward the school, grabbing Emmaline's jacket and pulling him along with him.

Ivan followed behind, walking slowly as though he were a bit dazed.

"I-I didn't know you went both ways…" He said cautiously, eyeing the other man as they walked.

Saskia but his lip, shoving his shaken hands into his pocket.

At that point he hadn't even realized the homosexual inclinations of what he had just done. He had just kissed another man…and he had enjoyed it. Saskia's heart leapt. He had just had his first kiss.

"Uh…This is my…err boyfriend. Emmaline."

Ivan and Emmaline both cocked their heads to stare at Saskia, the surprise written on both of their faces.

"N-nice to meet you." Ivan stammered, looking down to study his shoes.

Emmaline didn't reply. He was too busy glaring at Saskia for introducing him as his lover.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"Ivan asked.

Saskia looked over at Emmaline's beautiful face, his eyes searching, for what he wasn't sure.

"Because…I wasn't sure how…It's all been happening so fast."

Emmaline stopped then, looking over at his sacrifice with his eye brows pulled together.

"He didn't say anything because I asked him not to, our relationship isn't legal, because of my age."

Ivan lifted a brow, coming back to himself suddenly.

"Ooooh really? You're a collage age student aren't you? Hmm don't worry Saskia I won't tell anyone. Although I'm pretty sure everyone leaving the high school parking lot saw you two."

Saskia looked over at his sentoki with appreciative features, glad he had played along with the ploy. Emmaline only returned the gaze quickly.

But Saskia felt it, deep within him. He didn't understand what exactly made him kiss Emmaline; he remembered Soubi saying something about it strengthening the bond, but he didn't know the urge would be so great. the need to be close to Emmaline frightened him, it was almost as though his touch were like a drug to him, to his skin, his soul.

But as they rounded the corner to Eneko's school, Saskia couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to do it again.


	8. Connection

Saskia walked closely behind his sentoki, trying his hardest not to trip on his heals as he walked on the unsteady marshy ground leading out toward Emmaline's "secret place".

It was time for him to begin training.

His pulse beat in his veins, his gut becoming more uneasy by the moment.

"I feel like we shouldn't be so near Seven Voices…Don't you think we will get caught?"

Emmaline peeked an icy glance over his shoulder, his brow furrowed.

"You can't be afraid of confrontation. It's going to happen, might as well embrace that fact."

Saskia frowned crossly, his pouty mouth curved downward. His parents were going to be pissed that he didn't come home with Eneko, or leave a note, or call for that matter. But what could he say? He was known as one of the worst liars in the world (especially by his parents) there was no way he could get out of it. Eneko always did the lying for him…and Eneko didn't really agree with what he was doing.

So he just left with his sentoki, after all, this was his duty; he would protect his family at all costs. Clean up his Father's messes for him. But in a way… he was doing this for Emmaline too, because he sacrificed his life in Septimal Moon to protect him. And this made the feeling of unrest inside him even stronger.

Being a sacrifice was one of the hardest things Saskia had ever tried to do.

They marched forward, through a forest dripping with the remnance of a midday rain. Mud caked on his shiny black school shoes as Saskia held onto tree branches to help himself climb as fast as he could. Emmaline made trekking through this mess look effortless; his long legs lifting agilely up the steep hill, not even bothering to look back as his sacrificed struggled in his restricting navy blue uniform.

"I just don't think I can go any further, where on earth are we going anyway? Can't we find a nice park to practice in or something? I mean-."

Emmaline grumbled under his breath, cutting his other half off with his obvious irritation.

"Can't you just keep it shut for five more minutes? We're almost there for the love of god."

Saskia sniffed, wrinkling his nose.

"Jeeze don't have to be such a jerk-ass." He chided under his breath, looking just a bit like a reproachful Ritsuka.

They brushed through a bit more of the thick pine trees, just coming to a clearing beyond the bushy needles.

Saskia let out a deep breath, wiping his brow for a moment as he took in the sights of the large meadow.

"Damn, those stupid trees are so prickly; it's all in my hair too…bleck!"

"Here we go again…" Emmaline trailed off as he walked farther out into the openness of the trees.

Saskia just dusted off his jacket, his pretty face twisted into a pout.

What's with this kid? Emmaline thought to himself as he stared out at his lithe figure busily brushing himself off. Did Seimei over-coddle his little first born son?

Emmaline's displeasure briefly appeared on his face as he stood a few feet across from his young sacrifice.

"Saskia,pay attention to me, Saskia…SASKIA!"

His sacrifice looked up suddenly as Emmaline's deep voice chastised him. His ears flattened.

"Oh…err sorry, I was just-."

"Enough, just listen to me, this is important."

Saskia centered himself before his sentoki, his features suddenly becoming serious.

"Kay." He said intently, placing his hands in fists at his sides.

"Saskia, you need to really understand, that your life and your family's lives, my life, they're in danger. Septimal Moon is an organization that has tactics, plans, for this kind of thing. Assassins, vicious pairs, and science experiments are just a few things they have that are tools to use against us. We are outnumbered, and we have no way of knowing what they'll plan to do next."

Emmaline took a bit of a defensive stance, putting his hands protectively before his chest.

"I want you to get angry Saskia, not just angry, but I want you to feel that real pull of adrenaline, deep in your chest." He said this with a glint of intent in his eyes , his brow furrowed. "Get pissed Saskia, imagine I'm your worst enemy, yell at me!"

"But- but I don't have any enemies…" He said bashfully, his face confused.

"Quit standing there looking like a baby! PROVOKE ME!"

Emmaline's voice rang through the trees, vibrating through the quiet atmosphere and reverberating in Saskia's chest.

The boy squinted his eyes a bit, his lips pursed. He looked up to see his sentoki's angry expression; he sighed.

He's just trying to help me, Saskia thought to himself; feeling a bit guilty.

"I-I'll" Saskia started, his face reddening.

Emmaline clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowed.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD QUIT BEING A LITTLE GIRL AND DO WHAT I SAY!"

Saskia pursed his lips, his features contrite.

"Fine you stupid ass-face! You want to see me mad, you got it! You want to know what I'm going to do to you? Well if you talk to be like that again rest assured I will kill your dick!" Saskia shouted, red- faced, his hands in clenched fists at his side.

The confused Emmaline (whom was happy for a moment until he realized how badly his sacrificed had failed) rubbed his temples in frustration.

"I'll kill your dick? Really Saskia? What does that even mean?" The sentoki crossed his arms, his face disapproving. "How about this,huh? Next time I'll kill YOUR dick. How would you like that?"

"Well fuck Emmaline, what do you expect? I've never done something like this before. And it's not like you have the best patience."

"I figured it wouldn't matter so much if you'd just listen to what I tell you to do!"

Saskia crossed his arms, turning his rigid back to his Sentoki.

"First you tell me I have to make all the rules, then you go ordering me around and getting pissed when I don't get it right. What the hell do you want from me? I'm just a kid."

"Are you kidding me?" Emmaline shouted, a goaded look on his immaculate face. "I freaking end up with Aoyagi Seimei's kid as a sacrifice and I'm not even lucky enough to reap the benefits of a having a sadist for a master? What next? I drink a disgusting fifth of vodka, only to realize it doesn't even get me drunk? How could you just stand there like an idiot, when you have the blood of a killer so powerful it's staggering to even conceder, running through your veins? What am I supposed to do with a spoiled brat?"

Saskia turned back around, his face startlingly hard, he took four long strides to bring him close to where Emmaline stood, the sentoki's strong arms folded across his chest. Saskia just glared at him, His face so mirroring Seimei's that it made Emmaline quiver, just a bit, inside.

And in a flash of seconds, Saskia reared his boney fist back and decked Emmaline in the face, throwing his whole body into the sudden thrust, his knuckles barley missing the bridge of his nose.

The sentoki's neck bent out, as the punch threw his head backward, blood spilling from his nose; the crack of it echoing through the landscape.

While the punch had momentarily dazed Emmaline, Saskia then stepped back, kicking his right leg forward as high as he could and striking his other half in the chest, sending the taller man stumbling backward and toppling down onto the soggy ground in a mass of platinum blond and boniness.

"There." Saskia spat, pressing a muddy shoe onto Emmaline's chest as he lay on the ground. "Am I so disappointing now? Fuck you Emmaline! I don't have to take shit from you, and I won't, you better believe that next time you talk to me like I'm nothing, I will put your ass in check."

With that Saskia stepped off of him, his face still holding a bit of his fury.

Emmaline wiped his nose with his sleeve, feeling his heart jump suddenly as his body became traitorously aroused at this sudden act of violence.

It was working, he thought, Saskia is beginning to take his dominant role as the leader. He was showing a bit of his father within himself, and if they were going to beat Septimal Moon, they were going to need it.

"Saskia…" Emmaline whispered, looking up at his sacrifice with almost awed features.

The boy immediately blushed, suddenly realizing what he had done.

"OH! I over reacted… Emmaline-." Saskia reached down to help Emmaline off of the ground, but was surprisingly shoved back as his sentoki pushed himself off of the muddy earth.

"Don't you dare apologize, you finally did what I asked, you reacted without over analyzing the situation, and this is how you battle. You can't stand there wondering what to do next. You need to take action and do what your emotions tell you to."

They stood there staring at one another for a moment, their eyes locked in an arresting gaze.

Saskia sighed deeply.

"Saskia!" Emmaline suddenly cried, his voice sounding urgent almost scared. Then he was on the ground, the cold mud seeping slowly into his clothes. Something heavy was on top of him, it had plowed him over and into the earth.

"Emmaline." Saskia choked, opening his eyes to investigate. "You're crushing me."

That's when he heard the laughing.

He couldn't tell where it was coming from, and as Saskia tried to rise again, his sentoki shoved his head back into the dirt.

"Hey- quit it." He whined, until Emmaline covered his mouth roughly with his large hand.

"Shut your mouth." He whispered.

The laughing still continued, resonating through the clearing, with still no source to be found.

That's when he saw the knives embedded in the tree. There were three of them sticking out of the trunk of a pine.

They had been meant for Saskia.

"Shit!" He cried, still muffled by the hand over his mouth.

Emmaline stared off into the break of trees in front of him, his eyes hard.

He saw two figures emerge.

"So, you throw knives instead of fighting like a real pair? That's not what you taught me."

One of figures folded his arms across his chest, his chin length aqua hair blowing in the slight breeze.

"The lines are drawn Emmaline, it's time to pay your dues. And, you should know, when it comes to enemies, I don't play be the rules."

Saskia watched his sentoki rise from where he was covering him, his fists clenched.

"Activate sentou systems." He hissed raising his hand as the breeze turned into ravenous winds.

And in a blast of blinding light, the atmosphere changed into something surreal, almost like a movie or a video game.

Saskia pulled himself off of the ground, wobbling to his feet, he struggled to stand.

"Accepted!" The short haired man barked, his face still holding it's strange grin.

As Saskia stared dumbfoundedly, he felt something tight wrap around his wrist and jerk him backward.

"Get behind me stupid!" Emmaline bellowed his arresting face unreadable.

Saskia quickly followed suit.

"Hack, divide, split and sever!" cried a rosy haired figure standing in front the man opposing them. He was also a man, much to Saskia's surprise (considering he was wearing a skirt and leggings at the time. But his voice had betrayed his feminine appearance.

"Repudiation, your childish spell has no affect on the likes of Oblivion."

Hearing his own name come from Emmaline's mouth, in his spell, awakened Saskia, his body seemingly to finally come to life beneath him.

His hands shook and his chest swelled, his eyes almost coming to tears as he tried to control the force welling within him. He stood there shaking until he thought he might scream, anxiety and energy coming to an explosive apex.

"KILL THEM!" Saskia screeched, his voice ringing out into the forest, bouncing off of the hollows and resonating within them both.

Emmaline then took in a sharp breath, the sudden feeling of Saskia's command resounding through his soul, momentarily rendering the sentoki useless. That was when he felt it, it came in the form of emotions, swirling and crashing through him; it was Saskia, his thoughts and feelings, pain and fright, power and strength flowing through his veins. They had connected, and there was no feeling more painful and sweet, nothing that measured up to this intoxicating bliss.

It was then that their world collided, creating a mass explosion in the battle radius, and white-washing the earth and sky until it was all one place, one combined existence.

And then it was over.

Saskia felt like he had just awakened from a confusing dream. He sat there on his hands and knees, staring at the ground with wide eyes, blinking slowly. He wasn't even sure how he had fallen down.

All of the feelings were still there, still very present in his body and his mind. The connection with Emmaline had been so hard to bear at first, but now it was a strength in him, a certainty that he felt.

There was nothing that could explain it, no words that could compare.

"Come." Said Emmaline's deep yet gentile voice. And then there were his strong hands, lifting him, bringing his suddenly flaccid body into protective arms.

Saskia sighed deeply.

"W-what have we done?" the boy asked, resting his head on his sentoki's broad chest, feeling it rise and fall.

"We have connected. I've never seen a connection affect a pair so much that there was an explosion in battle…but maybe it's because now I've actually experienced it firsthand."

"Are-are they dead? Who were they?"

Emmaline usually frowned at such an emotive gesture, but he couldn't stop himself from holding Saskia tightly to him. He couldn't let go, couldn't shove him away; he felt so helpless.

"They didn't die, they might have gotten injured but Natsuo used a quick evade tactic to escape, they must have known what was going to happen and escaped in time."

"They just disappeared?"

"Yes. It's a spell that works both ways, depending on how much strength you have, and technically it's not backing down, because they used it as a spell. We could very well have sent them away if we wanted to."

"I don't understand how I could feel so weak and so powerful at the same time. I- I've never felt like this before."

Emmaline let out a deep sigh, momentarily resting his forehead in Saskia's hair.

"Neither have I."

XXXXX

The pair arrived at Emmaline's plain apartment around forty minutes later.

They had climbed down the hillside hastily, caring to listen to every little crunch of twigs beneath they're shoes or flutter of leaves as the wind blew.

There had been no sign of the Zero team after their evade.

After they got to the car, Emmaline took the time to inform him of who the Zero's were, how Youji had taken Ritsu's spot as Headmaster of Seven Voices, and how the couple had trained Emmaline to be the amazing fighter he had become.

"I'm sorry you had been whipped and beat into the place of submission Emmaline, that's no way to treat a human being, or any creature for that matter." Saskia had said after the conversation, his deep eyes revealing the hurt he felt.

Emmaline stared at them from the corner of his eye.

"Sentoki's are beneath Sacrifices, it's plain truth. And it's the path I've set upon from birth."

"It's almost like how they trained the gladiators, they hurt them and whipped them and dehumanized them to the point that they had no individuality left, they wield them as weapons for entertainment. And what do they get? An elite killer with no regard for humanity, one that would serve their master well."

Emmaline looked away then, staring out at the road illuminated by the headlights.

"Your father seemed to understand how to train and wield a sentoki with proficiency, something you're going to have to learn. You can't go around using words like humanity and individuality, because when it comes down to it, you must use me as a weapon…or you're not going to beat them."

As Saskia sat staring out the kitchen window, he recalled feeling sick to his stomach when Emmaline had made the statement. Feeling helpless, he couldn't even convince Emmaline of his worth, and whatever Saskia thought didn't matter.

Rain patted the window, drop by drop, until finally it began to pour. He didn't know why it had been raining so much this year…but it made him feel even more hopeless.

Had the Zero team even left because they were scared? It seemed people like them could easily make an example out of the pair known as Oblivion. Yet they had left, seemingly with their tail between their legs.

Saskia stared out the window, his head lazily resting in his palm. The rain had began to hit the window so hard that it made ping sounds as it deflected off of the clear glass.

What kind of man was his father, really?

"He had killed countless people, there were people (Emmaline had stated) That were lost or un accounted for that Septimal Moon believed may have been one of his victims as well. He had murdered his own Sentoki in cold blood; a thought unthinkable by Saskia. Not only that but he had also killed, mutilated, and humiliated Headmaster Minami Ritsu. There was also a rumor proved true, that his father had sewn his own neck back together.

Saskia and Eneko both chose to overlook the fact that their father and also married his own half brother. They knew that they loved each other without a doubt. But what kind of person was his father, that he would even consider doing such a thing? Or even falling in love with their dad in the first place.

All of this was a burden almost too heavy to bear for the young tenth grader.

But as the rain continued to fall, there was comfort in Emmaline's apartment. He was there with his other half. Someone, in definition, that was a part of him, who felt his feeling and bleed from his wounds. At least there was that, his protection, his knowledge, his incredible strength.

"Come, change your clothes. You're not going to be going home tonight."

Saskia looked over his shoulder, studying his sentoki in his pajamas; Black baggy sleep pants and no shirt. He concentrated on their name, gazing at the familiar heavy black lines reaching up over the taller man's hip muscle.

Something stirred inside of him, almost physically giving him the chills.

"I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall half of the time." Emmaline rattled on.

Saskia didn't argue, he just rose from his chair and wondered over to where he stood; like a lost puppy.

"Emmaline?"

Saskia stopped in front of him, his large eyes telling no lies as he gazed into his sentoki's pale stare.

Emmaline felt his cheeks grow a bit hot, but he ignored it, the planes of his face serious.

"Yes?"

"Do you feel alone?"

Emmaline contemplated this, looking away for a moment, feeling a little befuddled.

"Well, Saskia…I've felt alone my entire life. I could see how you feel this way right now; Being apart from your normal life, your family. I can remember how it felt for me so long ago…but as long as I'm alive. You'll never truly be alone."

He wasn't sure why, but Saskia felt stinging in his eyes, flushing in his cheeks. He wanted desperately to bury his face in Emmaline chest. He could imagine its warmth, it's astounding convivial.

He didn't let himself.


End file.
